Rifaximin (trade names:RCIFAX, Rifagut, Xifaxan, Zaxine) is a semisynthetic antibiotic based on rifamycin. It has poor oral bioavailability, meaning that very little of the drug will be absorbed into the blood stream when it is taken orally. Rifaximin is used in the treatment of traveler's diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and hepatic encephalopathy, for which it received orphan drug status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998.